Scroll Down for the Giveaway!

Welcome to the End of Book Shit Take Three for Eighteen.

Anyway, you can read the original EOBS Take Two posts over on my book blog, New Adult Addiction. That series was all about finishing up Rook & Ronin, Starting The Company Books, and the Social Media series.

This year’s EOBS series is about the 2015 books and Eighteen is the third in this series. Each EOBS T3 has a giveaway attached to the page, so make sure you click through to all the posts and enter all the giveaways. They are all very different.

Each EOBS T3 has a giveaway attached to the page, so make sure you click through to all the posts and enter all the giveaways. They are all very different.Monday’s Giveaway – 321 EOBS – $25 Gift CardTuesday’s Giveaway – Meet Me In The Dark EOBS – Signed book and MMITD keychainWednesday’s Giveaway – Wasted Lust EOBS – Signed Book and Wasted Lust Party PackThursday’s Giveaway – Sexy EOBS – Signed book and Sexy leather bracelet

And today is a signed copy of Eighteen and an Eighteen tote bag. So don’t forget to scroll down to enter that giveaway.

So holy shit, Eighteen was the surprise of my year. I know 321 was big and it made New York Times, while Eighteen did not. But Eighteen out sold 321 by far. The New York Times list is funny, because you are always compared to the books selling against you that same week. So even though I made NYT with 321 by selling about 17,000 copies in one week, I sold nearly 23,000 copies of Eighteen in one week and didn’t make it.

It doesn’t matter though. (I mean it matters, I guess. I’d have been really upset if I didn’t already have the title of NYT bestseller, but I did) The only thing that really matters was the response from the fans.

And Eighteen is special because I based the story off my own life while I was eighteen. I wrote about all that stuff in the original End of Book Shit, so I’m not going to go over it again. This time I want to talk about the messages I got after the book went big.

I do these marketing tip posts on this blog called Marketing Tip Monday and one of the themes I have running through all the posts is how I feel about my success and what I attribute it to.

Well, in short, it all comes from fans. It starts with good stories. But lots of authors write good stories and still struggle in this very competitive marketplace and yet I seem to be slowly growing, getting better, and gaining momentum. I think the difference between me and those authors is the way I interact with my fans. They feel comfortable with me. I talk to them. They message my author page on Facebook and tell me about stuff. Sometimes very personal stuff.

When I wrote Tragic I got a lot of letters from readers who related to Rook, the heroine in that series. She came from a bad relationship and was in the process of pulling herself back up after escaping and moving to another state. I got message from readers who told me the most personal things about themselves. And I answered each and every one. If I had only ever gotten one of those messaged my career would’ve been a success. That’s why we write, right? To touch people with our words.

But I didn’t just get one or two, I got dozens of readers thanking me for writing such a strong woman.

Well, that was nothing compared to the messages I got after Eighteen went big. I’m talking teenagers (It’s a new adult, right? I was writing this for my teenage self as much as I was for them) telling me that they were Shannon, the heroine in this book. Thanking me profusely for telling it like it is.

I’ll be honest, a lot of people hate me for telling it like it is. They don’t want my realistic characters fucking up their world-view. And I’m not saying they want me to write weak girls. No, they like the strong girls, they just hate that I write what happens to even the strongest of girls. Violence, abusive relationships, drug abuse, sexual abuse and on and on and on.

Apparently there is some unwritten rule in writing that says your strong woman main character cannot ever experience these tragedies in a realistic way. I get accused of condoning rape on a regular basis. Like, every book, I swear. Just go read the one-star reviews for Eighteen and see what I mean.

Well, those prudes can fuck off. And you know why?

Because readers who don’t like my version of reality can just move the hell along and find something else to occupy their time. Because the real world, is… well, real. And by the way, this book, Eighteen, was based on MY LIFE. I can’t even tell you how many people accused me of lying about it too. Ha. The people who knew me at sixteen have no trouble believing this story about eighteen.

I like to write stories that piss people off for one reason.

The messages I get afterward.

Now, I didn’t get anyone claiming to be Sydney in Meet Me In The Dark. Or Sasha, the pint-sized assassin. But Shannon in Eighteen could’ve been any girl. What happens to her could’ve happened to anyone. And if you think I’m lying, well I have the proof right here:

Dear J. A. Huss,

Last month I read your book “Eighteen”. After I read it I knew I had to share with you the impact it had on my life. I’m turning 18 on February 5. 17 was kind of crazy for me. I’ve made many stupid mistakes this past year and some of them I might regret for the rest of my life. And now that I’m almost going to be 18, I’m excited but anxious at the same time. Excited because it’s supposed to be an important transition into adulthood, yet anxious because I know that I would be making more mistakes due to the new identity I’ll be gaining with the title of being 18. However, after reading “Eighteen” I’ve come to realize that no matter what has happened to me or what I’m going through now, no matter the hurt, the losses, the lies, the disappointments, and the loss of hope that have been present in my life, one day I’ll find myself looking back and realizing that the process was needed and important in order to understand the outcome of what my life would be in the future. My dream is to become a pediatric oncologist. I have a passion for kids (by the way I loved Olivia so much) and for medicine. But I also love to read and write so I plan to do that as well by writing down my story as you have written yours. I hope to impact lives as you have done with me and the rest of the people who have read your books. So, simply, thank you!

Ps. I’m hoping to one day find a Mateo, a guy who would make me feel safe and even when I want to give up on him, he won’t let me, because he loves me.

This is why I write these books. THIS^^.

You cannot buy the emotion this messaged evokes in me. No amount of money can buy something like this. This message was everything to me when I saw it in my inbox. Fuck New York Times. Who the hell needs New York Times Bestseller on the cover when your words have this kind of impact?

Not this girl.

Fans are everything. And I love every message I get that lets me know I’m on the right track. No, my books are not for everyone. They’re edgy and mostly dark. They have a lot of violence and sex. But they are real to all the right people. My people.

Thank you for being my people. Thank you for believe in that girl Shannon in Eighteen. Thank you for loving Rook (she is more me than you will ever know.) And thank you for coming back for more.

That’s the prize. Fans who come back for the next book. Fans who re-read your older books just because they miss your characters. This is why I do this. It’s not the money, it’s not the bestseller’s list, it’s not the book signings, or anything like that.

It’s the fans.

Up next in the EOBS Take Three schedule is Anarchy Found and I have yet another fabulous prize in that giveaway. If you’d like my blog posts delivered right to your email, just sign up below and I’ll make sure you never miss a post.

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 2,104 other subscribers

Email Address

Thanks for reading,

Julie

Eighteen (18): Based on a True Story

Eighteen is hard.
And so is Mateo Alesci.
Hard to read, hard to predict, hard in every way that counts.
He wants things from me.
Dirty things, nasty things, forbidden things.
And I have to give in.
His attention is completely inappropriate, but I can’t say no.
The way he looks at me… the way ...

About the Book

Eighteen is hard.

And so is Mateo Alesci.

Hard to read, hard to predict, hard in every way that counts.

He wants things from me.

Dirty things, nasty things, forbidden things.

And I have to give in.

His attention is completely inappropriate, but I can’t say no.

The way he looks at me… the way he watches me through my bedroom window… the way he drags me deeper and deeper into his completely forbidden fantasy just… turns me on.

He knows it turns me on.

He holds all the power. He holds all the cards. He holds my entire future in his hands.

About JA Huss

JA Huss is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than twenty romances. She likes stories about family, loyalty, and extraordinary characters who struggle with basic human emotions while dealing with bigger than life problems. JA loves writing heroes who make you swoon, heroines who makes you jealous, and the perfect Happily Ever After ending.

You can chat with her on Facebook (www.facebook.com/AuthorJAHuss), Twitter (@jahuss), and her kick-ass romance blog, New Adult Addiction (www.newadultaddiction.com).

If you’re interested in getting your hands on an advanced release copy of her upcoming books, sneak peek teasers, or information on her upcoming personal appearances, you can join her newsletter list (http://eepurl.com/JVhAr) and get those details delivered right to your inbox.

112 Comments

18 was the year I really had to pull my shit together. I was kicked outta my house right before I turned 18. Mama told me one morning she had a plane ticket out of my hometown leaving the next day and to call my dad to see if I could stay with him. I had no job, no home just a suitcase with whatever I could fit in it. But it was the best thing for me! It forced me to grow up and learn to take care of myself.

Jesus Trisy, that is some kind of fucked up. I moved in with my dad and my brother middle of senior year and my dad was like, “Welp, you’re brother and I are going to Texas for Christmas. What are you gonna do?” LOL. I was like… “OK. (assholes) I’m going to see my friend in Northern California then. Have a good time.” I lowered my expectations of what I thought the world owed me after that. So yeah, it was not a bad thing.

18 was a tough year for me. I was a drug addict & it took a few years & many attempts to get clean. I missed out on college & a lot of other stuff. But I learned a lot about people. When I finally got my shit together I was smart and landed an excellent job, actually worked my way up & for me that was more satisfying.

OMG This made me cry, I loved her words and I always love your words Julie Huss and I hope you continue to know you kick ass at making us feel Everything!

18 was so real for me because I to had A LOT of things happen to me while I was 18 and 19 I sure wish I had found a Mateo but by the time I was a little over 20 I found my true love and we have been together for 33 yrs. he to had some fucked up shit happen in his teen years so we fit like a pair of gloves! I so loved this True story and a peak into your life, Fuck those naysayers please continue to write for your fans because we truly do appreciate your words I value your books more than you know, so much so that I wanted signed ones and I got some! I so hope you do that once a year so we can order more books, little bits at a time. I haven’t ready Sexy yet but I loved the cover and the blurb and I know I will love it as much as all the other books!